[Historical reminiscences: the schizophrenic psychosis of the Empress of Mexico (author's transl)].

Quite a number of reports have been published on psychotic developments in the mental make-up of kings and rulers, especially during the past century. Particularly remarkable is the great interest which has been evinced to date on the fate of King Ludwig II of Bavaria. On the other hand, the tragedy of the Belgian Princess Charlotte, who was Empress of Mexico for a few years by the side of her husband, Maximilian of Austria, is hardly known. I could not find anything about her in psychiatric literature, but there are numerous biographical hints in books on history dealing with the dramatic episode of the short-lived Mexican empire. I found some of the most essential information on the personality and psychosis of Empress Charlotte in the book written by Countess H. de Reinach-Foussemagne. The following description is necessarily sketchy and should be considered as a preliminary report to a more comprehensive interpretation of Charlotte's personality.